Jaya: A Retelling of the Mahabharata

If you're read the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, Journey to the West, then you'll have to read this too. It's a great story with great lessons, very enlightening indeed. Great performance and very clear explanations. This is a must have in your collection of epics.

The narration is not just by a single person, it has a drama company involved adding some sound effects and adding a story telling effect like the one you hear from your parents or grandparents as a kid.

There is a fine line between being dramatic and being annoying, and they have balanced it well.

As the cover suggest its the same old story, but its the meaning behind the story that is explained really well by Devdutt. The Bhagavad Gita and MahaBharat is a story with hidden messages and lessons for life, and sometimes it makes more sense for someone to tell you clearly with the help of story as it moves along.

He has followed the similar approach what Saints and Maharshi's across India use in their pravachan, read the story and explain the meaning.

The Questions to Yudhister
The explaination of the Bhagavad
and the End on about the final fate of Pandav's

This is worth listening many times on par with Vanraj Bhatia's rendition of bhagavat gita

The compendium of trivia collected from all parts of India and Indonesia about various subplots, their ethics and perspective are very entertaining as well as instructive. Coming from the same province as the author, Orissa, where many people are named after both the villains and heroes of yore; I can also readily relate readily to many caves and stones named after the pandavas, their benefactors or tormentors.

Draupadi, there is also a good version of her perspective in the current context developed by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni.

Ekalavya chopping off his finger: it reminds us that crony capitalism and nepotism are not new and meritocracy does not always triumph.

I was chagrined by the put on accents of some of the actors (showing off their English medium educational background and upbringing mostly limited to the major Indian cities) who were narrating the tale; get over it, speak naturally as any global indian speaks english today. For example, most of the Rushdie books are read by professional actors that reproduce Indian characters with appropriate diction, Peter Brook's play is also a good example of a globalized rendition of mahabharata minus any pseudo-accents !

In three words, this is a great read for folks who cannot understand Indian languages. This works even better for people of subcontinental origin who has already has rough idea of the story but has no clue about various chapters

I was amazed to know various stories which i have never heard of before. One example is the kaurava brothers awaiting Yudhistara in paradise!

Song of God, The entire chapter came out wonderful

Life of human beings

I purchased the audible version of this book because it was inexpensive. I have been thoroughly entertained and enlightened by this version of the Mahabharata. Is is the full Mahabharata? No, but Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik has selected certain stories from the whole that highlight the family relationships and the historical decisions that led to the war. The book reading was a bit fast for my western ears so I turned it to 1/2 speed and it was very enjoyable.
I was also impressed by the many references to individual folk stories and plays from the different regions where the Mahabharata has traveled.

If you are new to the Mahabharata, I would recommend this version to get started to learn the overall main theme of the epic.

Yes! It's inspirational!

Krishna, because he is a butter thief.

That they did an explanation of the text with every chapter.

Victory!

A great telling of a classic predating the bible.

Quite high

When the queen is protecting the cut up bodies of her sons on the battle field and is told by Krishna to go home but she stays and is suddenly driven crazy by the smell of a mangoe and unknowingly stacks the heads of her sons to climb them and get the mangoe and when she is finished she realizes the horror of what her need to eat a mangoe has driven her to do.

Multiple layers and keeps the story away from becoming monotonous.

Well I want to learn from books like this and I always listen to it again and again.

This book is for people that like learning but also want to be intrigued and moved.I am a history fan so for me books like this are food for my brain.

I will not like to listen to this book again because the reader does not do justice with the extraordinary story of Mahabharat. The reader has really annoying Indian accent.